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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27225223">Who Said Halloween Was Ruined?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceOfSpades22/pseuds/AceOfSpades22'>AceOfSpades22</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Overwatch (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blackwatch Era, Comfort, Fluff, Halloween, Jesse Is a Snack Thief, M/M, Pumpkin carving</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:48:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27225223</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceOfSpades22/pseuds/AceOfSpades22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The base celebrates Halloween every year, with varying levels of enthusiasm. It's all but an open secret that Commander Reyes is big into the theatrics of dressing up and thus made sure to throw a massive party in the Blackwatch Commons every October. So what happens when Jesse tries to convince Genji that pumpkin carving and parties was the best way to celebrate?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jesse McCree/Genji Shimada</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Overwatch Fall Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Who Said Halloween Was Ruined?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_Carbonele/gifts">King_Carbonele</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is ( a little late) for the 2020 Fall Exchange! My piece was for King_Carbonele! Hopefully you like it!<br/></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            "You want me to stick my hand in that?" Genji asked, skepticism etched in his face. "You've got to be kidding."</p>
<p>            "C'mon darlin you don't know what you're missing! It's not so bad once you get past the sliminess." Jesse said, his entire forearm deep inside of his pumpkin as he scraped all the guts away. The rhythmic sound of spoon against pumpkin filled the air from where he sat with it in his lap on a tarp on the floor.</p>
<p>            The base celebrated Halloween every year, with varying levels of enthusiasm. It was all but an open secret that Commander Reyes was big into the theatrics of dressing up and thus made sure to throw a massive party in the Blackwatch Commons every October.</p>
<p>            The agents had all been banished from the area for the past two days save for those that had volunteered to help decorate, so all Jesse knew of the party this year was the theme of "monster".</p>
<p>            He’d decided to carve his pumpkin accordingly. It was one of the biggest events, the pumpkin carving contest, and he was determined to do well.</p>
<p>            "I promise you'll have fun. You're an artist! I bet you could even win if you tried! Though…" Jesse grinned and looked down at his half carved pumpkin with a smug smirk. “It’s gonna be hard beating me.”</p>
<p>            "I <em>was</em> an artist, I told you! Drawing well hardly equates to being good at artistically hacking at a vegetable. Besides, I haven't drawn anything since..." Genji trailed of for a moment.</p>
<p>            "Since joining up. I know darlin. I know." Jesse soothed as he settled his hollowed out pumpkin on the ground and stood up to pull Genji into a tight hug.</p>
<p>            "I think it'll be good for you to get some artistic talents flowing. I've seen the remnants of your tattoo. I know you designed all the ink for your family. So, don't you go trying to tell me that you're not that good, or you don't like being creative, or all the other excuses you try to give me. Carve a pumpkin. Have fun!"</p>
<p>            "You're getting pumpkin on my sweatshirt you ass!" Genji squeaked, mortified. When Jesse only squeezed him tighter, he huffed, but buried his face against his neck anyway and held him tight.</p>
<p>            "This is the ghost of Halloween past! Carve the pumpkin! Ooooo!" Jesse whispered in Genji's ear as he held him. "Carve it or else you'll make the Commander sad. Ooooo! And when the Commander is sad, we have to run laps! Ooooooo!"</p>
<p>            "Oooo! But then I'll have to spend hours picking pumpkin out of my wiring!" Genji ooo'ed back at Jesse, crimson eyes alight with amusement.</p>
<p>            "I'd say you should know how big of a pain that is, but then I'm pretty sure you'd never cleaned the blood and grime from between the cracks in your robotic hand and arm before we got together." Genji said as he stretched up on his toes to press a kiss to Jesse's nose before pulling away from him again to glare at his still whole pumpkin.</p>
<p>            "No sir. No I did not. To be fair, to be fair..." Jesse began, pausing to think of an excuse. "I've got nothing to refute your claim."</p>
<p>            Genji rolled his eyes at the man and stuck out his tongue, though amusement shown in his eyes.</p>
<p>            “Alright… I’ll do <em>something</em> with the pumpkin before tomorrow, but it’ll be a secret. You don’t get to see it until it’s done.” Genji decided as he looked at the pumpkin once more.</p>
<p>            He had an idea of what he wanted to do, but it’d require gathering a few supplies first.</p>
<p>            Jesse frowned. “I see… Well if you actually mean it and aren’t just saying so to get me to leave you alone about it, I guess I can be patient and wait until tomorrow... Just promise you’ll actually try?”</p>
<p>            Genji smiled and nodded. “I promise. I’ll make the most beautiful pumpkin you’ve ever seen.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>            Jesse was all but bouncing with excitement the next afternoon. He’d been itching to head down to Genji’s room all day, but had wanted to give the man plenty of time to make his masterpiece. The Halloween party was not set to start officially until 6 that evening, and he’d intended to meet his lover at his room before they headed to the Commons, but by 3 he’d had enough waiting.</p>
<p>            Pumpkin in tow and dressed in probably the best werewolf costume anyone had ever worn, in his opinion at least, he started for Genji’s room.</p>
<p>            “What a frightening costume, Jesse!” A voice called ahead of him as he rounded the corner. Between the contacts in his eyes and the other person’s costume, it was hard to tell who it was at first, but as they drew closer he grinned.</p>
<p>            “You make those wings yourself, Ang? Or, is it part of a new, spooky Valkyrie suit?” He asked. “Does a witch count as a monster?”</p>
<p>            “Mmm no, I suppose they don’t, but I’d been working on the outfit already before I knew the theme. I think it’ll be good enough.” Angela said with a smile as she tilted her witch’s hat to him.</p>
<p>            “Look, I even decorated my Caduceus to look like a broom. If Gabriel wants to complain that I’m not “monstrous” enough, I’ll just smack him on the head with this.” She decided, though even if Commander Reyes did try to complain about her costume choice, the chances of her actually hitting him with anything more forceful than a glare were slim.</p>
<p>            Of course, the chances of him saying anything at all weren’t high, either.</p>
<p>            “You look stunning, Ang. No one is going to be saying anything about your costume except to tell you how great it looks.” Jesse promised. As nice as it was to see Angela though, he was growing impatient.</p>
<p>            “Hey, uh. I’ve got to go find Genji, help him get ready and all. So, I’ll see you later, ok Angela?”</p>
<p>            “Genji? Oh I tried to stop by his room earlier to show him my costume but he didn’t actually come to the door. I’d assumed he and you were… uh... Predisposed?” Angela said, with a blush. “Oh well. He’ll just have to see later. Have fun getting ready!” She called as she began walking away.</p>
<p>            Jesse waved his goodbyes then continued on his way. It was odd that Genji hadn’t opened the door for Angela. They two were closer than peas in a pod. It wasn’t like they’d had a fight. Angela didn’t get vindictive when she was angry, and Genji had never seemed able to hold a grudge against her. He must have just been out, or something.</p>
<p>            Deciding not to worry about it, Jesse settled his pumpkin on the ground outside of his lover’s door and knocked. “Genji darlin, I’m here!” He called.</p>
<p>            --Agent Shimada has requested no visitors.</p>
<p>            Jesse blinked. No visitors?</p>
<p>            “Athena tell him it’s me. I’m sure he’ll change his mind!” Jesse said as he knocked on the door again. “Genji? Open up, sugar. I want to see your pumpkin!”</p>
<p>            “Jesse... Athena let him come in.” The reply was faint, but Jesse could have sworn it sounded pained. Immediately, concern rose in his chest and as the door unlocked he slipped inside to find the room was dark.</p>
<p>            His heart sank when he found Genji huddled up on the bed, curled on his side beneath a blanket and trembling. The lights of his cybernetic parts flashed and flickered sporadically, leaving him to jerk slightly with each flash.</p>
<p>            “Bad pain day...” Jesse said, eyebrows furrowing as he slowly settled on the bed beside his lover, careful not to touch him. “Why didn’t you call me? I’d have come by so much sooner.” He said softly.</p>
<p>            “I thought...” Genji gasped and grit his teeth as his synthetic nerves spasmed again, leaving a wave of pain to roll through him. Days like these happened. They had been frequent when he’d fist been fitted with his cybernetics but had been coming less and less often. Angela said sometimes his brain and the synthetic nerves fell out of sync with each other and that was why he had this fits. The result was a crippling, wave like pain as the robotic parts of his body restarted over and over again in an attempt to resync with his still biological components.</p>
<p>            “I though I could handle it. It’s been so long since the last time I thought… I thought I could ride it out.” He admitted as he moved on the bed just enough that he could rest his head in Jesse’s lap.</p>
<p>            Immediately, Jesse trailed his fingers through his lover’s sweat dampened hair to soothe him. “You don’t have to endure this by yourself, Genji. You know that. No matter if it takes minutes or days to get through, I never mind taking care of you.” He scolded gently.</p>
<p>            “I know…” Genji agreed. “I just... didn’t want to make you stay here and miss the party. I know you like Halloween almost as much as the Commander does.” He said softly, his body tensing again as his robotic parts started flashing in their reboot once more.</p>
<p>            “Do you really think some silly holiday is more important to me than you?” Jesse said as he looked down at the man in his lap.</p>
<p>            “But you’re pumpkin... And your costume. Go have fun. There’s no point in us both being miserable in here... You can take my pumpkin, too.” Genji urged, not wanting them to both miss out on the festivities.</p>
<p>            “You’re... You actually made one?” Jesse asked, momentarily distracted.</p>
<p>            “I told you I would. It’s on the counter in the bathroom. I didn’t want to get paint on the floor…” Genji mumbled softly.</p>
<p>            “Paint…?” Jesse said as he carefully settled Genji back onto the bed and got up so he could look.</p>
<p>            He hadn’t really known what to expect; painting a pumpkin wasn’t something he’d ever heard of, so when he switched on the light in the bathroom and saw Genji’s pumpkin for the first time, he gasped. The man had painted an elaborate dragon face on the orange surface, complete with countless scales and a line of fur that seemed to almost pop up out of the painting. Mouth open in wonder, he picked it up and carried it out into the other room.</p>
<p>            “You painted this?” He said, awed by the man’s talent. “No wonder they put you in charge of inking people. You’ve got a real talent.”</p>
<p>            “Yeah, I guess. You can’t do much with painting. No one’s even going to get to see it because my stupid body is broken and ruined Halloween.” Genji muttered as he peaked out from beneath the blankets so he could watch what Jesse was doing.</p>
<p>            “I got to see it.” Jesse argued gently. “And, who said you ruined Halloween? We can do all kinds of spooky things, right here. Snacks. Movies. Cuddles. We’re going to have the best damn Halloween ever. Reyes and his big fancy party can eat shit. You’ll see. I’ll be right back.” He said as he dashed from the room.</p>
<p>            First things first, he ran back to his own room, stripped from his costume as quickly as he could and dove into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt than whirled around his messy room, gathering blankets and pillows as he went. Genji almost always slept over in his room, and thus his own was sparse of comfy things. He packed a backpack of all the horror movies he had, which admittedly, wasn’t many, and bundled it all up into his arms before taking off down the hall again.</p>
<p>            He nearly tripped half a dozen times, and all but bowled Torbjorn over in his haste to get back to Genji’s room.</p>
<p>            “Blankets! Pillows! Movies! I’ve got them all, and more!” He announced as he burst back through the door to Genji’s room and dumped all of his finds onto the floor in front of the bed.</p>
<p>            “What are you--?”</p>
<p>            “No time! Be right back again!” Jess announced as he dashed out again.</p>
<p>            This time sprinted down the hall, dodging costumed agents and soldiers as he went. A few of them glared as he rushed past, annoyed with the way he pushed them out of the way, but he didn’t care. He was on a mission to provide Genji with the best Halloween possible, and it was this idea that allowed him to fearlessly burst through the doors to the still forbidden Commons.</p>
<p>            He was immediately greeted with a confused, bewildered looking Commander Reyes, to which he gave a hasty wave before dashing to the table of snacks.</p>
<p>            “What the hell are you doing, Jesse? It’s not time for--!”</p>
<p>            “I need this bowl of candy, those rice crispy treats and that plate of sandwiches, ok thanks, bye!” Jesse said, not giving Commander Reyes any time to so much as finish protesting his actions.</p>
<p>            “McCree! Come back!” Gabriel howled in the distance, but Jesse was already dashing back through the doors, stolen treats precariously balanced in his arms. He very nearly smacked back into Angela for the second time that day as he rounded the corner again and the doctor squeaked in alarm.</p>
<p>            “Sorry Angela! It’s for Genji! I can’t talk right now!”</p>
<p>            “Genji? Is he…? Jesse wait!” She called, but again, he ran away too quickly for her to even finish her question.</p>
<p>            By the time he’d returned to Genji’s room, he was breathing hard and beaming from ear to ear. “Tada! Snacks!”</p>
<p>            In the short time Jesse had been gone, Genji had willed himself up off his bed just long enough to gather a few of the blankets. He’d built a nest of soft, cozy things on the bed and had burrowed deep into various fabrics, so when Jesse came back and presented his snacks, he was nothing but a pair of glowing crimson eyes in the darkness.</p>
<p>            “Snacks?” He asked softly.</p>
<p>            “Snacks.” Jesse agreed as he set his pilfered treats onto the nightstand beside the bed. He grinned as Genji’s hand shot out from the blankets and snatched up a rice crispy treat before disappearing into the nest once more.</p>
<p>            “Snack gremlin.” Jesse teased as he set up a movie from them before joining Genji on the bed and burrowed into the blankets beside him.</p>
<p>            “I am a snack gremlin.” Genji agreed with a soft giggle, feeling better, not because the pain had lessened, but because it was easier to bear it when he was distracted by Jesse’s silly antics. As the movie began to play, he pressed against Jesse’s side and rested his head against his shoulder, the first of many rice crispy treats long since consumed.</p>
<p>“Well now. Fancy meeting you here.” Jesse hummed. “See? Who ever said Halloween was ruined?”</p>
<p>            “Thank you, Jesse. You didn’t have to do all this. Really, but I appreciate it.” Genji said softly.</p>
<p>            “Of course, darlin. Nothing to thank me for. Halloween wouldn’t be fun to celebrate without you anyway.” Jesse said as he pressed a kiss to Gneji’s forehead before handing him a sandwich and settling in more comfortably for the movie.</p>
<p>            Genji smiled as he took the sandwich and cuddled close to Jesse once more. “Happy Halloween, Jesse.”</p>
<p>            “Happy Halloween.”</p>
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